Like Costco, Target, and other major retailers who have secret price codes, Staplesalso has a pricing system that will clue you in on the savings you'll get when buying their office supplies and electronics. Here's how it works.

Lifehacker reader Daniel used to work at a Staples store and writes in:

On all price tags there is a one-letter codes (A, I, C, F, R, P) that designates what pricing group the item is in.

Regular priced items:

A stands for active items, they are items that are at regular price or special weekly prices (red tags).

I stands for Inactive items, this is the first step down from Active, it almost never has a discount but signals that the item is either being replaced soon from the vendor with an updated product, is not going to be carried anymore by the store, or is being moved to the P category soon.

P stands for Promotion, this is usually reserved for seasonal items, vendor end-caps, and random things throughout the store. This is the most common tag second to Active. Never discounted with exception of a special weekly promotion (red tag)

Discount codes:

C is the code for clearance items, usually a 10-15% markdown from retail price. Items can bounce from I to C and back to I depending on vendor issues. C items usually never get more than 15% discount, and are normally not being restocked by the warehouse, so its first come first serve.

F is the code for "Field" though many Staples associates call it "Final." This is the code where products go to die at super crazy prices. You can find computers that retail at $900 for $220, point and shoot Fujifilm cameras for $18.50, and other randomly priced items. Most prices end in 50 cents, but this is not a rule, and usually starts off at 20% and will drop over time to 90% off over time, based on how long its been on F status. Usually it takes 2 months to drop to 80-90% markdown.

R status means "Return," its for items that should have been sent back to the warehouse/vendor but the Inventory Associate missed. R items are items that are being sent back to get credit from the manufacturer, for items that should be destroyed by the store (Turbotax software after tax season) since it's not worth the cost of transport, and items that should be donated to local charities. If you run into an R status item, it may be discounted but sometimes it is still full price. It may be worth asking the manager for a discount, since if they try to return it to warehouse after the due date, the store does not get a credit and loses the money.

So look for C's or F's on the price tag (an easy way to remember: bad grades) and maybe ask for a discount on R's.